Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below show the number of French adults whose parents spoke a French regional language to them when they were children and the number who speak a French regional language to their own children.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

Number of adults (in thousands) whose parents spoke a regional language to them in childhood

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The horizontal bar charts gives information on the amount of French native adults whose parents spoke a french regional language to from childhood and the amount of those who speak same to their own children. The number of individuals is measured in thousands.

Generally, both habitually and occasionally, the chart shows the highest and lowest number of adults had their parents speak Occitan and Corsican to them respectively. The largest amount of adults(400 thousand), speak Alsatian to their children while the least number of adults (about 70 thousand)speak Corsican to their children.

More adults had their parents speak Altasian and Occitan habitually to them than Creole and Corsican with just 200 and about 190 thousand adults respectively.

A significant number of adults approaching a million have parents who spoke Occitan occasionally to them as children. Breton was neither the most or least language spoken from parents to children.

In conclusion, there is a drastic reduction in the number of people who speak a french regional language to their children

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the two chart topics and give an overview of the main extremes, noting that Occitan is prominent in the childhood figures and that Alsatian leads for speaking to children. However, the report only partially covers the data: it does not clearly compare habitual with occasional speech across all five languages, and the final claim of a “drastic reduction” is too broad without showing the differences by language. Some figures are inaccurate or unclear: Creole and Corsican habitual figures are about 105,000 and 85,000, not “200 and about 190 thousand”; Breton is also not quantified. The statement that Breton was neither the most nor least language spoken is vague. Develop the key comparisons accurately and distinguish the two childhood categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic report structure, with an introduction, an overview, supporting details and a concluding sentence. The overview paragraph usefully highlights the leading and lowest categories, and the later paragraph adds selected figures. However, progression is limited: the details are not organised into a clear comparison of habitual and occasional speech, and the conclusion repeats a general trend rather than synthesising the data. Linking is sparse, while phrases such as “Generally” and “In conclusion” do not fully clarify how the points relate. Group the figures systematically—for example, compare the two childhood categories first, then contrast them with the figures for speaking to children—and use clear references to each chart.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart-report vocabulary, including “measured in thousands,” “habitually,” “occasionally,” “significant number” and “reduction.” This gives you enough language to communicate the general subject, but several choices are imprecise or awkward, such as “amount of French native adults,” “speak same,” and “the largest amount of adults.” “Altasian” is also a misspelling of Alsatian, and “french” should be capitalised when referring to French. Repeated use of “number” and “adults” limits variety, while “drastic” overstates the overall pattern. Aim for precise terms such as “the number of adults,” “spoke the same language,” and “decline,” and check language names carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including the opening clause “whose parents spoke…” and the contrast in “More adults had their parents speak… than…”. Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction recur. For example, “The horizontal bar charts gives” should use a plural verb, while “the amount of French native adults” has an unsuitable grammatical construction. The phrase “the highest and lowest number of adults had their parents speak” is difficult to parse, and “the least number of adults … speak” does not maintain consistent tense. Punctuation and spacing are also uneven, as in “adults(400 thousand)” and “thousand)speak.” Use straightforward, complete sentences and check agreement and tense in each one.

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